Israel–Lithuania Relations

Israel and Lithuania established diplomatic relations in 1992 after Israel's recognition of Lithuanian independence the previous year. The relationship now includes resident diplomatic representation, high-level political contacts, security and cybersecurity cooperation, commercial ties, and recurring agreements in education and culture.[1][2]

This cooperative agenda is inseparable from the history of Lithuanian Jewry and continuing discussions over Holocaust memory, restitution, and antisemitism. The combination of strategic partnership and historical reckoning has remained a defining feature of bilateral relations.[7][5]

The connections between Lithuanian Jewry and the Land of Israel long predate formal diplomacy between the two modern states. Lithuanian Jews — known as Litvaks — maintained deep cultural and religious ties to Jewish settlement in the ancestral homeland stretching back centuries.[10] The immigration of Hasidim and disciples of the Gaon of Vilna to the Land of Israel began in the late eighteenth century, and Lithuanian writers were already discussing Jewish nationalism and settlement there during the 1870s.[10] Vilna functioned as a center of Russian Zionism between 1905 and 1912, and the first Diaspora institution for training Hebrew teachers opened in Grodno in 1908.[10]

In the years immediately preceding and following the establishment of the State of Israel, Lithuania's Jewish community was a shadow of what it had once been. The Holocaust, carried out during the German occupation of 1941–1944, destroyed the community with exceptional thoroughness. The World Jewish Congress community page estimates that approximately 90% of the prewar Jewish population was murdered.[3] An AJC report places the proportion at more than 90% of a prewar population of approximately 200,000, while a separate World Jewish Congress report estimates a prewar population of 220,000 and a death toll of 95%.[11][4] Whatever the precise figure, Lithuania lost one of the most culturally rich Jewish communities in the world.

As independence approached in 1990, the Lithuanian government issued declarations of reconciliation with Jewish survivors, and the representative of the Jewish Agency was permitted to operate freely in the country.[12] A subsequent government invited Israeli Knesset members to discuss amnesty for Nazi collaborators, and the inscription "murdered by the Nazis and their local helpers" was added to gravestones at Jewish mass-murder sites — steps that nonetheless took place alongside continuing disputes about how the Holocaust was to be interpreted and memorialized.[12] The late Soviet and early independence period also saw a surge in emigration: 2,962 people moved from Lithuania to Israel in 1990, including 2,355 from Vilnius alone, followed by a further 1,103 in 1991 and approximately 900 in 1992–93.[10]

Israel recognized Lithuanian independence on September 4, 1991.[1] Lithuania recognized Israel on January 8, 1992, and bilateral diplomatic relations were established that year.[13][2] An air route between Vilnius and Israel opened on June 1, 1992, providing an early symbol of the new relationship.[14]

For more than two decades, Israel did not maintain a resident embassy in Lithuania. In September 2014, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced that an embassy would open in Vilnius after meeting Lithuania's president. He described bilateral relations as having strengthened in recent years and cited the Tel Aviv–Vilnius air route and growing economic ties in high-tech, technology, and medicine.[15] Lieberman also thanked Lithuania for what he characterized as its fair position during Operation Protective Edge and its support for Israel at the UN Security Council.[15]

In February 2015, Amir Maimon presented his credentials to Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė as Israel's first ambassador to Lithuania. Their meeting addressed economic and cultural ties and cooperation in cybersecurity, high-tech, research, and tourism.[16] Maimon and embassy staff subsequently laid a wreath at Ponary Forest, where more than 70,000 people were murdered during World War II.[16] Israel's official bilateral timeline identifies 2015 as the year it opened its first embassy in Lithuania.[2]

An investment-protection agreement was signed in 1994, and the United States listed a bilateral investment treaty between Israel and Lithuania as being in force in its 2024 investment-climate report.[2][17] In September 2005, the countries signed a convention to prevent double taxation based on the OECD model, covering withholding rates for interest, royalties, and dividends and providing for mutual resolution of tax disputes.[18] A visa-waiver agreement signed in June 2000 by Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy and Lithuania's deputy foreign minister allowed Israeli citizens to enter Lithuania and remain for up to 90 days without a visa.[19]

One of the defining acts of post-independence Lithuanian–Israeli diplomacy was the speech delivered by Lithuanian President Algirdas Brazauskas to the Israeli Knesset on March 1, 1995. Brazauskas publicly acknowledged Lithuanian involvement in the Holocaust, asked for forgiveness, and promised to bring war criminals to justice — a major reconciliation gesture in the early years of the restored republic.[5]

In 1998, President Valdas Adamkus established the International Commission for the Evaluation of the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupation Regimes in Lithuania. The commission's aims included establishing historical truth about crimes committed under both occupations, commemorating victims, and educating the public.[5] Its membership was international and included representatives of Jewish communities in Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States; Yitzhak Arad of Yad Vashem was among those who served on it.[5] The commission also developed Holocaust education centers and programs within Lithuania.[5]

Despite these efforts, academic analysis identified unresolved matters affecting Jewish–Lithuanian reconciliation, including restitution of individual, communal, and religious property; prosecution of Lithuanians who participated in the Holocaust; preservation of Jewish cemeteries and historical sites; and the shape of Holocaust education and commemoration.[5] The analysis noted that, even after significant efforts since 1989, the Jewish and Lithuanian "communities of memory" continued to diverge on fundamental questions.[5]

Lithuanian government support for commemorating the 200th anniversary of the death of the Vilna Gaon and the transfer of damaged Torah scrolls to Israel were presented as goodwill gestures toward the Jewish community. Critics argued that these actions did not settle disputes about Holocaust-era accountability or property claims by Lithuanian Jews living abroad, and there were calls in Israel not to participate in the commemoration.[20]

Property restitution for Jewish losses during the Nazi and Soviet occupations has been among the most persistent and complex bilateral issues. Lithuania's 2011 property-compensation law provided for payments to the Good Will Foundation, a partnership involving the World Jewish Restitution Organization and the Jewish Community of Lithuania.[4] The plan provided an initial 3 million litas, approximately US$1 million, for elderly Holocaust survivors, followed by an additional US$49 million over ten years beginning in 2013 for welfare, social, educational, and cultural purposes.[4] Israel's Foreign Ministry described the decision as an important step toward historical justice for Lithuania's Jewish community.[4]

Earlier restitution arrangements drew criticism. Naphtali Lavie, then vice-chairman of the World Jewish Restitution Organization, argued that Lithuania's communal-property restitution law made recovery conditional on membership in a religious community, while many local Jews belonged to organizations that did not meet that definition. He also said Lithuanian Jews living abroad could not claim private property under the law as he described it.[6] Lavie criticized the transfer of approximately 300 Torah scrolls to Israel as a public-relations gesture, stating that fewer than 20 were usable even after substantial repair spending.[6]

A further compensation mechanism took effect on January 1, 2023, providing €37 million, of which up to €10 million was designated for individual property claims not covered by earlier legislation.[21] The funds were designated for distribution through the philanthropic foundation established in 2011 to receive government compensation for Communist- and Nazi-era seizures of Jewish community property.[21]

By mid-2025, Lithuania had begun paying individual grants of €20,000 each to Holocaust survivors and descendants of Lithuanian origin for private property seized during and after the Holocaust. Approximately €7.5 million had been distributed to roughly 340 beneficiaries, including 240 Israeli citizens, from around 930 applications submitted through the end of 2023.[22] Lithuania also committed a further €37 million over seven years to support Jewish communal life.[22]

By June 2023, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė had proposed a bill providing $38 million in compensation for Jewish property seized by the Nazis and the Soviet Union, a measure presented as part of Lithuania's broader commitment to historical justice.[11]

Reciprocal high-level visits have marked the maturation of bilateral ties. Lithuanian President Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas made the first visit by a Lithuanian head of state to Israel, an event the Israeli embassy's timeline identifies as a landmark in the relationship.[2] Presidents Valdas Adamkus and Dalia Grybauskaitė subsequently visited Israel, as did several prime ministers and foreign ministers.[2]

Israeli President Shimon Peres visited Lithuania in 2013.[2] In a Globes interview, Lithuanian Jewish Community chair Faina Kukliansky described the visit as historic for the country and expressed hope that it would strengthen ties and raise bilateral relations to a new level.[23] Kukliansky said Lithuania's Jewish community actively supported Israel and that Israelis visiting the country, including those exploring family roots, were welcome.[23]

In August 2018, Benjamin Netanyahu became the first Israeli prime minister to visit Lithuania, attending a summit in Vilnius with the prime ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.[24][8] The leaders discussed strengthening relations with Israel and expanding cooperation. Netanyahu met Lithuanian President Grybauskaitė and remarked that the visit held personal historical significance because of both the history of Jews in Lithuania and his own family connection — his great-grandfather came from Lithuania.[24] Netanyahu also asked the Baltic leaders to help address what he described as a distorted EU position on Israel and criticized the EU's planned €18 million aid package for Iran.[24] Lithuania had helped arrange his invitation to meet EU foreign ministers in Brussels in December 2017, while seeking expanded defense cooperation, particularly in cybersecurity, and a tougher Israeli stance toward Russia.[25]

In January 2019, Lithuania and Israel signed a declaration of intent to increase cybersecurity cooperation. The following day, Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis met Netanyahu in Jerusalem, with economy and industry ministers from both countries also participating.[26]

In February 2022, Lithuanian Seimas Speaker Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen made a three-day visit to Israel at the invitation of Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy, marking 30 years of diplomatic relations.[27] The visit included meetings with Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Ram Ben Barak and President Isaac Herzog, as well as a visit to Yad Vashem and the opening of Lithuania's honorary consulate in Netanya.[27] Levy asked Lithuania to open a permanent office in Jerusalem. Čmilytė-Nielsen described Israel as Lithuania's "closest and main partner in the region" and said the countries shared values and had opportunities for expanded cooperation.[27] She also noted that approximately 500 Lithuanian teachers had taken courses at Yad Vashem and returned to teach what they learned, and that Lithuania planned to update its Holocaust curriculum over the following five years.[27]

In March 2023, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and visiting Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis signed a cooperation agreement covering education and culture for 2023–2026. It provided a framework for joint activity in higher education, youth exchanges, performing arts, literature, cinema, cultural heritage, and sports.[28] The countries had first formalized cooperation in these sectors in 1994 and renewed the program every few years.[28]

At the AJC Global Forum in Tel Aviv in June 2023, Prime Minister Šimonytė described Lithuania and Israel as "close allies and partners" and linked the relationship to a shared struggle for freedom and independence.[11] She called Israel's defenses "the best antidote against Iranian weapons," discussed Russian-Iranian cooperation and the war in Ukraine, and said Lithuania would continue pressing for sanctions on Iran over drone supplies to Russia.[11]

Trade and commercial ties between Israel and Lithuania have grown substantially since the establishment of diplomatic relations, driven in part by Lithuania's security concerns on NATO's eastern flank. In 2016, bilateral trade reached approximately €270 million, or NIS 1.1 billion, with roughly two-thirds related to military hardware and cybersecurity software.[29] Contracts worth €180 million with Israeli defense companies, including Elbit Systems and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, were reported for the same period.[29]

Israeli high-tech firms have established research and development centers in Lithuania, with Wix cited as one example.[29] Israeli Ambassador Amir Maimon described trade as showing consistent, though not rapid, growth over the preceding decade.[29] A 2012 report noted that bilateral trade turnover grew by 60% in 2011 and that the number of Israelis traveling to Lithuania for tourism rose by 62% that year.[30] Lithuania appointed its first commercial attaché in Israel, with a mandate covering bilateral trade, Israeli investment in Lithuania, and tourism promotion.[30] Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology were identified as potential growth areas, with Israeli company Teva already operating in Lithuania.[30]

Defense-technology cooperation has become an area of particular depth. In January 2026, Lithuania was reported as set to outfit its Leopard 2 tanks with Israel's Trophy active protection system. The system uses radar detection, electronic-warfare tools, and kinetic interceptors to counter incoming anti-tank weapons, and its selection was presented as part of Lithuania's effort to strengthen armored defense and deterrence on NATO's eastern flank.[10]

The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies characterized bilateral business ties as flourishing and the presence of BDS activity in Lithuania as minimal.[8] Lithuania has also abstained on some United Nations resolutions supporting Palestinians and criticizing Israel and opposed a UNESCO motion disavowing Israel's historical connection to Jerusalem.[29] In September 2025, Lithuania was reported as the only EU member state to have publicly opposed a European Commission proposal to suspend the EU–Israel free-trade agreement. The proposed suspension was part of a broader package that included sanctions on Israeli ministers and still required consideration by the EU Council and foreign ministers.[31]

Lithuania's response to the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, was among the most unequivocal in Europe. Lithuania's parliament passed a resolution condemning the attacks by 108 votes to none, with no abstentions.[32] The Lithuanian president, prime minister, and defense minister also condemned the attacks; Defense Minister Arvydas Anušauskas said Lithuania supported Israel's efforts to repel Hamas.[32] Public displays of Israeli flags and memorial events took place across Lithuania, and Israeli ambassador Hadas Wittenberg Silverstein called for the immediate release of the hostages.[32]

At the same time, the October 7 attacks became a flashpoint for antisemitic expression within Lithuania. Lithuanian Seimas member Remigijus Žemaitaitis posted remarks online that prosecutors investigated on grounds that they promoted hatred based on nationality. His comments, made in June and expanded upon in October after the attacks, were condemned as antisemitic by Lithuania's president, prime minister, parliamentary speaker, and foreign minister.[21] On November 21, 2023, the Seimas sought a Constitutional Court opinion after an ad hoc committee concluded there were grounds to expel him over the comments.[21]

The warmth of the diplomatic relationship coexists with persistent tensions rooted in contested Holocaust history, antisemitism, and questions of accountability that have not been resolved to the satisfaction of all parties.

At a 2015 meeting in Tel Aviv, World Jewish Congress CEO Robert Singer praised the bilateral relationship but raised concern about neo-Nazi rallies in Vilnius and Kaunas. President Grybauskaitė acknowledged the problem but said government action was difficult unless groups used Nazi symbols or explicitly incited antisemitism or racism.[9] In 2004, a Lithuanian newspaper published articles and a caricature that Israeli Foreign Ministry official Mark Sofer compared to propaganda by Joseph Goebbels. Sofer also said the Lithuanian government was working to fight the antisemitism.[33]

The question of Lithuanian participation in the Holocaust and its acknowledgment in official memory has generated diplomatic friction. On March 24, 2021, the ambassadors of Israel and Germany joined the U.S. ambassador in raising concern with Lithuania's parliamentary speaker about "distortions of the role of Lithuanians who collaborated with the Nazis in the Holocaust."[34] The meeting occurred amid controversy over parliamentary remarks by MP Valdas Rakutis about Jewish participation in Holocaust-era ghetto administrations; Lithuanian senior officials criticized his remarks, though prosecutors declined to open a pretrial investigation.[34]

A 2021 report described allegations that Israel's ambassador was among critics who accused Lithuania's state Genocide Research Center of obscuring the role of Lithuanian police officers, soldiers, and civilians in the murder of Jews.[35] The center's director was dismissed amid the controversy but alleged that Israeli and U.S. ambassadors had applied pressure over how Lithuanian history was being researched and taught.[35] During Netanyahu's 2018 visit, a commentary article criticized his use of the phrase "Nazis and their collaborators" as understating Lithuanian participation in anti-Jewish violence and challenged his praise of Lithuania's Holocaust commemoration.[36]

During her 2023 visit to Israel, Prime Minister Šimonytė's speech at the AJC Global Forum was reported to have emphasized the Holocaust as trauma for Lithuania without addressing Lithuanian participation in the persecution and murder of Jews.[37] The same report cited Yad Vashem's description of Lithuania as one of the few Nazi-occupied countries where locals showed "enthusiasm" for collaboration with Germany. The Lithuanian embassy responded that Šimonytė had addressed collaboration in an earlier speech at Yad Vashem.[37]

Sources also disagree over what counts as bringing a Lithuanian Holocaust perpetrator to justice. An academic source reports that Lithuanian courts convicted former Vilnius Security Police deputy chief Kazys Gimžauskas in 2001, though he was declared unfit to serve his sentence because of his age and health.[5] A Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs article asserted that no Lithuanian perpetrator had been brought to trial.[20] Because one source records a conviction and the other makes a categorical contrary claim, the discrepancy remains unresolved in the cited record.

A final point of diplomatic sensitivity arose after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on November 21, 2024, for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Lithuania said it would comply with the warrants.[10] The announcement underscored that, despite the overall closeness of the relationship, Lithuania's positions as an EU member and a party to international legal institutions could at times diverge from Israeli government policy.